Loveless
by Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei
Summary: Tenten, an unapproachable, dangerously beautiful dragon, or a rose with thorns, in Neji's eyes. What happens when he approaches her on the topic of love, something which he has never received before? And Tenten? How will she react? Nejiten oneshot R&R.


Hey ppl! This is some random oneshot I wanted to do just because I wanted to test my descriptive-writing skills! It may seem a bit weird…:D It's slightly humourous, slightly angsty, but rest assured that there is DEFINITELY a happy ending. Hope you enjoy it, read and review! Thx!

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The way a dragon moves is incredibly enticing. It swirls and ducks, each scale shimmering like a teardrop on a stone, soft, yet hard. Its never-ending flow seems to calm, yet excite at the same time. Its movement is so fluid and subtle, yet fast and cutting, that it can seem increasingly gentler by the second, or even more dangerous. It would be wonderful to approach it, and yet, one must keep away for the sharp edges can kill. A rose with thorns, one could say. Nevertheless, a rose with thorns smells as sweet as any other.

As the prodigy would describe the mistress. In this case, the rose smells sweeter, to him, at least.

Beautiful. Yet dangerous.

Unapproachable. Yet inviting.

All these talents come with immense knowledge of the art of weaponry. And so comes her title, weapons mistress of Konoha.

And he, in his eyes, seemingly unworthy of this fine girl-although his opinions were far different back in his genin days- sought to finally approach her, after many days of mulling, boredly, as it seemed, over one word, love.

'Tenten.' He spoke finally, after many moments of silence. In his mind, he enunciated the word with such grace and it was filled with emotion, but sadly, in reality, it came out in his usual monotone. Maybe, not so sadly for him, for he had to keep up his image and persona, but to the person he was addressing, very sad, indeed.

'Yes, Neji?' Ah! She spoke with such passion! Her mere words ignited and sparked a feeling deep within him! It burned brightly just when she spoke his name! But he needed more time to mull.

'Hn.' His thoughts were raging! To be or not to be, that is the question. More specifically, to be or not to be _in love_, is the **true** question.

He watched, intrigued, as Tenten sighed, shaking her head and resumed tending her wounds. They had, together, just defeated a horde of enemy ninja in a surprise ambush. Fate was merciful, you could say, and provided them a satisfying victory, albeit slightly painful.

'Neji…you zoned out completely.' Ah yes. Passionate words indeed. Ay, a man had to be deaf not to here to pure love leaking from those profound words. Hmm…

'Hn.' Ah! Even more emotional! So deep! This word 'hn' is so unique! So original! So intriguing! Devastatingly so! One would have to be really daft not to marvel at this prodigy's wide range of vocabulary!

'Oh come on Neji! Something is seriously wrong! Hello?!' Tenten waved her hands in front of his face. The elegant movement of her slender, long and clean fingers! How simply perfect!

'Tenten…' Alas! The same monotone! Neji was futilely trying to change his voice, make it more loving! More caring! More passionate…but it seems the prodigy's one weakness is emotion! He could not manage to change his sad and dark monotone…Ah the joys of being an under-privileged kid with a bad past…

'What?!' Such exquisite verbal etiquette! How intriguing!

'Tenten…' And he tried, again! This time he stared hard into her eyes, forcing the emotion into them.

'Neji, what the hell?! I'm trying to clean my weapons! Just shut up if you don't need anything!'

Tenten didn't even look at him as she yelled. Neji growled in frustration! How the heck was he supposed to show emotion when she wouldn't even cooperate?!

'Tenten!' Finally! She looked up at him! She looked into his eyes and was immediately mesmerized for some reason…possibly the fact that his eyes were so deep yet shallow at the same time! Usually, she would be able to look away after a few seconds, seeing no emotion in them, but today, she drowned in them.

Neji, meanwhile, was hypnotized by her deep pools of dark amber. Heh, today was seriously weird.

'Neji…'

Silence apart from the rustling leaves descending upon them. Tenten stared at him expectantly, knowing that he had something to say. She respected him and waited patiently.

'I don't know how to love, Tenten.' He stated pretty bluntly.

'Eh?! Neji?' She tore her gaze away, shock written all over her immaculate features. She hurriedly composed herself but her eyes gave it all away.

'Is it that hard to believe?' Neji smirked, cocking an eyebrow.

Tenten looked down sadly.

'Neji…love, it's a hard emotion…'

'I just want to know an outsider's opinion…'

'If you insist…Well, it makes you burn on the inside when you see the person you love, and it can make your chest ache. If it's family love, you just feel warmth…and um… well, that's all I can really say. If you really love the person when it is not your family, or just your friend, you sometimes feel…fuzzy? Yeah fuzzy and fluffy on the inside. You can somehow feel lightheaded yet your heart weighs you down. Neji…' She sighed at the end, pitying Neji.

'Ah, I see…'

They lapsed into a morose silence, one in deep thought, and the other in just pity and wonder at how a prodigy had never known love. Neji wallowed in self-pity after he was through thinking. No one had ever loved him. Except his father, of course. He didn't even know his mother, damn it! Hiashi was his uncle! He would never love him the same way. And yet…Tenten…he never felt so strongly for someone as much as his father…except that this was slightly different, more awkward…It was Tenten, after all…Why was his life so miserable?! Why? It was a simple question, and Neji had just found the answer. He had never been shown love…that is, from anyone apart from Tenten…if that's what love was. He wondered how he had managed to survive all these years…his Genin years, his Chuunin years, his Jounin years, and now, his ANBU years.

Subconsciously, Neji dropped his ANBU mask onto the ground that was slightly damp from the humidity and fog. It clattered, attracting the attention of a slightly oblivious Tenten, who was deep in sad thoughts about Neji. He probably wasn't aware of it, but he was quivering slightly, not from tears, most likely, but from anger? Disappointment? Either of these emotions seemed fitting. He had never really wondered about his life as a whole, and why it felt so empty, but now, he knew.

'Neji! Daijoubu ka?!'

He didn't answer Tenten's frantic and nervous question. He just clenched his fists and looked up at the sky for a brief second, and turned away from her. He inclined his head a little, and muttered a low, 'We should head back.'

Tenten could detect so much pain in his voice, and she was overwhelmed. It was one of the only times he had ever shown emotion, and she felt so sorrowful, just hearing those words. It shattered her heart.

She dropped her scrolls in a daze and slowly headed towards Neji. She had no idea what she was doing. Neji's senses were not on alert and were clouded with sadness, fury and just downheartedness. He felt like glaring at the tree nearest to him, the one on which his right palm rested, till it burst into flames, and after it burnt down, he felt like vilifying it, shouting useless slander at it till it the ashes just blew away in the wind. So, he didn't notice her coming.

Well, not until he felt slender arms wrap around his chest and a forehead being rested on his shoulder.

'Tenten?' Neji asked, slightly shakily.

'Shh, Neji, I'm here, I'll always be.'

He turned around, and Tenten took this opportunity and wrapped her arms properly around his chest and pressed her body against him, giving him the warmth he had needed and never received. Neji was still shocked, his arms hanging limp by his sides.

Slowly, he lifted his arms a placed them loosely around Tenten's shoulders. He was hesitant at first, almost as if he was afraid of crushing the smaller girl, but his grip tightened to the point where it seemed like he was afraid to let go.

'Tenten?'

'Yes, Neji?'

'Is this…what people…call…love?'

Tenten inhaled sharply, and exhaled through a sigh.

'No, Neji, this is not what people _call_ love, this IS love.'

Neji looked down at her, surprised, nonetheless happy. He smiled, a sincere smile this time, causing Tenten to look up at him because of his slight position change.

'Arigato, Tenten.'

'Nande?'

'You've always been there for me, that's why. I may not have noticed it before, but although I thought no one loved me, I was wrong.'

Suddenly, Tenten felt tears well up in her eyes.

'Don't say that Neji! How could you say that you have had no one who loves you! You've been so oblivious all this while! I mean, isn't friendship, love? Isn't it those small things that count? Lee, Gai-sensei? We have always respected you Neji, and you are part of a team! Our team! Don't say that!'

Tenten felt like slapping him for such a stupid comment. One tear dribbled down her cheek, not from sadness, but from pity at Neji. She squeezed Neji harder.

'Tenten…'

'You don't have to say anything, Neji. I am sorry for what I just said. I don't understand exactly what you have been through, but I have some idea. It's just that you never knew what love really was, and I fed off all of the things that were closest to love. That's how I lived my life until now, Neji. I survived because of my friends, and also to some extent the need to get stronger and compare to YOU Neji, so I must thank YOU for helping me come this far.'

'Tenten…' Neji's eyes were slightly widened, a little shocked at this confession. Slowly, he wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and her arms found their way around his neck as she wound his dark locks between her fingers. He rested his forehead against hers and she just stared up at him, innocently and patiently.

Slowly, he angled his head slightly, and brought it closer her. She blushed as she felt his ghostly breath tickle her lips, reminding her subtly of the sweet sound that breathes upon a bank of violets, beautiful and soft.

And then, she felt the softness of his lips on hers. They moved together fluidly, like a dance, soft, united as one. Their emotions raged on the inside, fighting to be let out, but one true emotion stayed clear and never strayed from its path. Love. It could never be taken over, and neither of the two, (now one), gave into the lust and passion that clouded their vision behind their eyelids for it was only inside them, and contained and overwhelmed by the true power and meaning of love.

'Aishiteru, Tenten.' Neji breathed out, as he pulled away, whispering into her ear.

'Aishiteru, Neji.' Tenten whispered back, their voices contained only to themselves, safe from prying ears as the cooling mist swirled around them in a light winter breeze, and as the dragon embraced the lone figure. Somehow, the thorn-like razor sharp scales melted into warmth and love, accepting the closed one.

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Thank you for reading! I was feeling a bit depressed and random one day, and voila! You get this!

Anyway, please review…it will make me feel better:D


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